PRO FOOTBALL; Redskins (1-2) Facing Paying a Heavy Price

The Giants, taking advantage of an obscure National Football League rule, sent scouts daily to the training camp practices of the Redskins this summer, accumulating dozens of pieces of useful information.

The data ranged from getting solid looks at potential free agents, to picking up individual player tendencies. A small amount of that information, according to a Giants coach who did not want to be identified, has been incorporated into the team's game plan against Washington on Sunday night.

The Redskins were required to open their summer practices to other team's scouts because they charged fans for admission. By doing so, the team opened the door to the vault, and the Giants, a bitter division opponent, said, thank you very much.

''They opened up practices, and we went,'' said Ernie Accorsi, the Giants general manager. ''I don't know how much you get from it, but I know there were a lot of little individual ingredients, and sometimes those individual things all add up.''

The Giants, off to a 3-0 start, did not break any league rules by sending scouts to the Redskins' Ashburn, Va., training camp facility.

This season, Washington became the first team to charge fans admission to training camp, which amounted to $10 for admission and another $10 for parking. The team owner, Daniel Snyder, initiated the charges as a way to offset the millions of dollars he paid for stadium improvements.

But by charging fans, the Redskins also opened themselves to their competition. A little-used league rule states that any team that makes fans pay to watch training camp can be scouted during that time by opposing teams. Usually, clubs are forbidden from sending scouts or other personnel to any team practice at any time during the season.

To opponents of the Redskins, it was suddenly a feast. It is believed that every team in the league sent scouts to Washington's practices this summer. The Giants, whose hard-working scouts may put in the longest hours in the league, were among the most aggressive. The Giants scouted every Redskins' practice, gathering what the team believes to be useful information.

The Giants knew coming into this season that the Redskins would be their most threatening division opponent and, as Accorsi said, ''It would have been arrogant for us not to send people there.''

Jerry Reese, the Giants' assistant director of pro personnel and a six-year veteran of the scouting department, was a constant presence at Washington's summer practices, from mid-July until mid-August. David Gettleman, the team's director of pro personnel who before joining the Giants was a scout for Denver and Buffalo, also went to the practices.

The Giants' scouting department digested all of the information, then handed it off to the coaching staff, who did their own dissecting. The team believes it has practical information that will be used against Washington this weekend.

Publicly, members of both franchises try to play down the effect of scouting the practices. They say little can be learned from them. That, of course, is strategic in itself. Teams want to play down that going to the practices are useful, hoping the Redskins will continue to open them, and teams can continue to have access. The Redskins, who are 1-2 this season, say nothing is learned from them, hoping to minimize any public embarrassment.

Privately, it is a different story. The Giants coach who did not want to be identified also declined to say exactly what the coaching staff had learned. But, he said, the information, while not being a major factor, will provide a small edge in certain game situations.

A team cannot learn much about overall strategy from the summer practices, but scouts say a surplus of information can be gathered. Scouts can get a close view of backups who probably will not play much this season, but might be attractive free agents in the near future.

Also, scouts may be able to pick up a player's tendencies, some that might not show up in routine film study: for example, how an offensive lineman sets before a play may give away if the play is a pass or run. Again, nothing major, but an accumulation of these tidbits, which are passed on to the players, might make a difference on a critical play or series.

''We got some interesting information, but the bottom line is that this Redskins team is extremely talented,'' Accorsi said. ''They scare me. This is going to be a tough game.''